Method and apparatus eor mantjfacttjrino tires



Feb. 19 1924.

W. C. STEVENS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING TIRES Original Filed Oct. 10 1918 2 SheetsPSheet 1 ])zwrz&b1' 425mm C 1. 55506% Feb. 19 1924.

w. c. STEVENS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING TIRES Original Filed Oct. 10

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gggzgm C lllrl llll ll i lllllL l uurrso STATES a.

c, arrivals, or Arman, 0310, 485161103 T was rxnss'ronn area m auna: oflml-lo 1,898,740, a iied ammm aa aai; Serial No.

-- an comm,'briakaomomo, acoaroaa'rrox or care. lm'rnon nrn arraaa'rus roauaiwracroamo nm 251,0, ma 0mm 10, um. Renewed April 28,1921, Serial Re. 468,904., Application for relnue flied June 11,1928. Serial I0. @818.

Tagall whom concern:

Be it known thatL WILLIAM C. STEVENS,

at citizen of the 'United States, residing at Akron inthe count 6 Ohio ihave invente certain new and usefulv rovements in Methods and Apipag s r, Manufacturin Tires, of w ich (the-following is aspe cation. v

invention has Ibrits object a new altimproved method for manufacturing 1 and h will enable tirestobe manufactured cheaply than at present, by reduc ng theomppnt' of handling necessary. in getting theufabric to themachine. in presenting the fabricito the machine in freehand perfect condition, and in forming a reserve or storwa .su y for the fabric between the point 0??" 1 v.andthecore. F3112 drawings accompanying this application, there is shown diagrammatically the layautiotiapparatus to accomplish the purinf-the invention, but it will be understood that the particular design is not ll esaanitiali'and may be changed within the limitmotth'e invention a r l-is' aview in side elevation; and

2m Figure.2.is aplan view. 7

loathe manufacturecf automobile tires :0 by prwentfactory methods, the fabric from which the tire is manufactured is given a friction coat of rubber compounds on both amidea-andthen given a skim or surface coat I 8| fabric isthen. taken to thebias cutter where required in the manufacture of the casings.

in bOQkSpr-rolledup in a liner to keep the 40 rubberized 1,, fabric from mutual contact. Therboeks referred to are boards on which aI 'e-eeburedaa numberof layers of liner by coneclong edge, Each strip of rubberized fa it! ,i placed between the layers or leaves I of etirooksfi The books or rollsin which the- -bileatrips are held are then taken to an enabling table at which point the fabric are placed end to end, being fir ml v spliced, or rolled together so that a straight 80 lo ofhbias cut fabric is formed, which Wmisplaced on themachiner 1 Implaca of using the or rolls of of Summit, State of apparatus for this purpose 01101;)" side by means of calenders. The.

it iscut into" strips at anangle of as is 'fit thfiblls' cutter the fabric strips are placed is t rolled up in {bag narrow liner on a: drum. This drum of liner and fabric rolled fabric intermediate the bias cutter and the assembling tables it is possible to bring the bias cut fabric directly from the bias cutter to the assembling table.

The drums on which the fabric and liner are rolled, constitute an expensive item in the operaiion, of a tire factorv and as the drums are notvtaken directly, from the assembling tables to the machines, considerable space is required for their storage. The fabric for different kinds and sizes of tires is of difl'ercut widths and it is necessary to dug the rolls and keeprun accurate record of them which requires considerable clerical force. Furthermore, as the rolls stand. the liner becomes stuck to the tacky rubber coating making its rcmovul difiicult and often causing injury to the skim coat, which is detrimental to the finished tire. Considerable time is often wasted at-thc tire machine in separating the liner from the fabric;

During the building of a tire (arc must be exercised on the part of the tirc builder that splices do not pile up,,that is, become superimposed inthe building of the carcass, and while the fabric is rolled up between locate the splices, and frequently the s lices pile up in a tire necessitat ng the rebui ding of it, or the operator unrolls the fabric and tries to determine the location of the splices, which operation consumes valuable time at the machine.

By the method herein disclosed all-of the difiicultiesexpcrienced in the handling ofthe tire fabric are obviated, as, it isthe purpose of my invention to run the fabric direct from the assembling table to the-tire machine, and for this object it is necessary to provide a new combination of elements in a tire factory.

By ractising my invention it is possible to ma provision for a storage supply of fabric between its source andithe tire core,

siblegto replems withdrawn fabric ing the intervals in which the 'core is not drawing upon the fabric. 7 In this manner fabric is alwaysf-reely availableto the operator and is preferably in view of the operator theturns of the liner, it. is impossible-to them end to end to form the for the purpose of positioning splices and the like.

that the rolls may be eliminated and the bias out fabric leddirec'cly from the cutter to the assembling tables. As the fabric is generally required to be of two different widths in a tire carcass owing to its position relative .to the bead, there are shown two separaterolls of fabric and liner, the fabric 3 being slightly narrower than the fabric 4. The liner is wound up on the roll 5 after passing over a table 6 upon which a considerable portion of it is exposed carrying the bias strips, skim coat uppermost.

From the upper surface of the table 6 the operator removes the bias stri s and places liingth of bias fabric from which the tire is made. The table or su orting means upon which the strips are aid is shown at 8 and the two strips of bias fabric are shown at!) and 10, the former being the narrower strip ada ted to form the first or under bead plies, an the latter being the wider strip to form the plies over the bead. In the making up of the stri the operator rolls down the overlapping en s of the fabric to make a s )lice shown at 11. At the end of each table 8 is arranged a pair of feed rolls 12, one of which is provided with a crank 13 so that the/operator ma pass out the fabric as fast as it is assemble From the rolls 12 each length of fabric may pass over a pair of -idle rolls 14 between which it forms a loop 15 for storage and in spection purposes.

The apparatus is designed to be used with a tire buildingmachine such as shown and described more articularly in my copendin application gerial No. 256,429, filed ()cto er 1, 1918, certain parts of which machine are shown dia rammatically in the drawings. It is obvious that the invention is not limited for use with such a machine, but may "be applicable to other well known or standard machines. The method and apparatus are peculiarly adaptable for a mac ineof the type shown herein, as in these machines the core occupies one' position during the laying of the plies underthe bead and another position during the laying of the plies over the bead, as the narrower strips 9 are led directly to the core in the first named position and the wider strips 10 are led to the core in the second named position.

With machines in which the core is fixed in position it is possibleto utilize the present invention by having two sources of fabric of differing widths directly accessible from the operators positionand easy of application to the stretching mechanism, whi may accompany each machine, or if desirable,- only one width of fabric may be used for all the plies, or wide and narrow fabric may be as sembled in a single length.

In the particular embodiment which I have shown the tire machine comprises a movable su port or table 16 which carries a plurality 0 supports 17 on which are mounts ed cores or forms 18. In this particular machine the core occupies four positions during the manufacture of the tire, the first position being'shown at A in which the finished tire is inspected and trimmed and a new core substituted for the finished one. The second position is at B in which the first plies of fabric which go under the head are laid about the core and shaped thereto. The third position is shown at C inwhich the beads are applied and the fourth position at D in which the last plies of fabric which go over the bead are laid about the core and applied thereto. In order not to have too much detail in the diagrammatic view, the supports for the core in A and C positions have been omitted and the shaping, bead applying, trimming mechanisms, and core rotating mechanisms have been omitted. The means tion to position have also been omitted mm each core moves about the machine from position A to position D remaining at eachpoint long enough to have the several operations erformed on four cores at the four ints. It will be understood that the num r of supports and steps in the operation of the machine may be varied without departing from the invention.

Adjacent the movable support, and preforably located within it, is a, stationary su port 19 which carries a air of guide rol 5 -20 which receive the fa ric from the last idle roll 14. From the guiding rolls the fabused for moving the support 16 from osi-,

ric passes to each core in B and D positionsthrough a pair of stretching rolls 21 and 22 from whence they pass to the rotatin core. Any suitable means may be devised or exerting a drag upon the rolls 21 and 22 to stretch the fabric. may be used, but it is preferred by me to make use of a retarding roll shown at 23 which may be so geared to the rolls 21 and 22 as to exert a determined and measurable stretch to the fabric. The details of the device are not essential to an understandin of this invention and have been omitt from the showing, but attention is directed. to my copending application aforesaid for these details.

When the plies of fabric have be eii 3 however designed, is brought into play, or the fabric may be shaped by hand. It will A braking mechanism be noted that the fabric from the two tables 1"? I r fabric which initself is a great saving.

cross in their passage to the machines This isnfor the purpose of keeping the skim coat on the u per side of the fabric to facilitate the buil ing of'the tire, although thi arrangement is not esmntial as'the fabric may be assembled with theskimabove and below for the different strips. P

.By theuse of the apparatus herein described, and'bypractice of the method, the drums on which the 'fabricustrips are rolled up may be dispensed with; It is not necessary to use a liner' between the"'turn i;f e fabric is always fresh when delivered to the machine and the skim coat is in perfect conditidn, .not being injured by handling as hasbeen the case heretofore, or by adherence toia liner, which will not only peel oil the skim coat, but Will'- delay-theopcration-of the tirecmachine. Furthermore, the tir'e'machine operator does not have to. guess or waste valuable time in investigating the location of the splices as the fabric hangs before him in a long loop and he can ocate the splices far enough ahead so as to know where to attach the leading end ofthe fabric. The loops 15 are of sufficient size to accommodate enough fabric for one operation of the tire machine, and serve as storage points for the fabric between the fabric supply and the tire machine operator from which the latter may draw.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the construction and operation of the a paratus without departing from the spirit of the invention, or sacrificing any of its benefits;

\Vhat I claim is:

1. In the process of manufacturing tires,

the steps of cutting fabric into a plurality of strips, building a continuous length from said stri-ps, leading said length directly from said forming point to a core, and applying the fabric to the core.

2. In the process of manufacturing tires, the steps of assembling bias strips end to end to form a length of fabric, leading said fabric in a continuousistrip directly from said assembling point to a form, and applying the fabric to the form. V

3. In the process of manufacturing tires, the steps of assembling bias strips end to end to form a length of fabric, leading said fabric in an uninterrupted strip from the point of assembly to a form, stretching the fabric, and applying it to the form.

4. In the process of manufacturing tires,

the steps of assembling the bia strips end to end to form a length of fabric, leading said fabric in an uninterrupted strip from the point of assembly to a form, forming said fabric into a storage supply and stretching said fabric on its way to the form, and applying the fabric-to the form.

5. n the process of manufacturingtires,

the steps of assemblingthe bias stri s end to end to form a length of fabric, lea iug said fabricin an uninterrupted strip .fromjhe oint 'of assembly to a form, forming in the 'ength of fabric astoragesupply, andap; plying the fabric'to'the form. t '6. In, the' reces of manufacturingtires, the steps of assembling the bias strips end to end to form a length of fabric, leading the fabric in an I, uninterrupted strip from a source of supplyto the tire core, and form'- ing a storagesupply inthe length of-fabric 'between the fabric supply and the corefroni' which tlrefor-m, n1ay dr aWfits fabric. c 7. "I'n an"apparaths forbuilding articles of rubberized fabric, the combination-of supporting means at which, strips of bias fabric are assembled to form: a continuous strip, lan article building machine, and means forlading a continuous strip from the supporting ,means to the buildingma; chine. f

8. apparatus for the manufacture tofu tires "comprising an assembling table where the fabric is formed into continuous strips from a plurality of individual strips, a tire making machine, and means for conducting the continuous strip from the table to the machine.

9. In an apparatus for themanufacture of tires, the combination of an assembling a table whereon the bias fabricis joined en to end to form a strip of fabric, a tire makmg machine, means for ading said fabric from said table to said ire machine, and

means for forming a storage supply of said fabric on the way to said machine.

10. In an apparatu for the manufacture of tires, the combina ion of an assembling table whereon the bias fabric is joined end to end to form a strip of-fabric, a tire malting machine including a core, means for leading said fabric from said table to said machine, means for forming a storage su 1y of said fabric, and means for stretc ng the fabric prior to its applicat on to the t1recore. .g

11. An apparatus for the marlin. \cture of tires, having a combination of an assembling table whereon the bias fabric is joined'eild to end to form a strip of fabric, a tire fcirm,

12. In an apparatus for the inanufii'cture of tires, the combination of a table. at which individual strips of fabric are assembled to form a continuous strip, guiding means to conduct said continuous strip from said table, a tire machine including-acme, said guiding means conducting said continuous fabric strip directly to said core.

13. In an apparatus for the manufacture of tires, the combination of a table at which individua'l fabric strips are assembled to. form a continuous stri a tire machine 1ncluding a core, stnetc ing mechanism on a ,said machine, said stretching mechanism re- 6 ceiving said fabric from the table and deliyerin it to the c.0re.,

14. u an apparatus of the character described, the combination, of a sup ort for a. core, said supportbeing movable rom one position to another, two asmmbling tables and'giicans -for conducting fabric from sai tables to said core in its two positions respectively. 115. In'an apparatus of the character de- 1 scribed, the combination of a-isupportfor two core; said support being-movable to rapsfer said cores from one position to "another, two assembling tables, and means for conducting fabric from said tables to" said coresi p 16. In an apparatus of the characterdescribed, the combination of a support for two" cores, said support being movable to transfer said cores from one position to another, two assembling tables, means for conducting fabric from,'sai b i-sbles to said cores, -and means for for {istorage said fabric between thaflbies and the cores.

supply of lama 17. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a. su port for a plurality of cores, said support being movw able to shift said cores, two assembling tables, said tables to said cores, and stretching mechanism for fabric from each table.

18. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a su port for a plurality of cores, said support being movable to shift said cores, two assembling tables,.means for conducting fabric from said tables to said cores, a stationary suport and stretching mechanism for said abric in two positions of said cores carried upon said stationary sup ort.

I 19. In an apparatus of scribed, the'combination of a support for a plurality of cores, said support being movable to shift said cores, twlo assembling tables, means for conducting, said fabric from said tables to the cores, means for forming a storage supply of fabric, a stationary support, and stretching mechanisms for said fa carried upon said stationary support.

WILLIAM C. STEVENS.

means for conducting fabric from' the character de-] ric in two positions of said cores 

